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Obama: “Private Sector Is Doing Fine”
Despite High Unemployment And Slow GDP, President Obama Thinks ‘The Private Sector Is Doing Fine’
PRESIDENT OBAMA: “The private sector is doing fine.” (President Obama, Press Conference, 6/8/12)
· ‘Sometimes I Forget’ “So it was a house of cards, and it collapsed in the most destructive, worst crisis that we’ve seen since the Great Depression… Sometimes I forget…” (President Obama, Remarks At A Campaign Event, Seattle, WA, 5/10/12)
‘Meager’ Economic Growth, ‘Anemic’ & ‘Tepid’ Job Creation
Current Unemployment Rate 8.2% (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 6/8/12)
· LA Times: “…disappointingly small number of jobs for the third straight month.” (“Unemployment Rises To 8.2% In May As Job Growth Stalls Again,” Los Angeles Times, 6/1/12)
· USA Today: “… payrolls gains were disappointingly tepid for a third month…” (“Unemployment Rate Ticks Up To 8.2%, 69K New Jobs In May,” USA Today, 6/1/12)
· New York Times: “…anemic jobs report…” (“The White House Strikes ‘Recover’ From Response To Jobs Report,” The New York Times, 6/1/12)
· Washington Post: “A dramatic drop-off in U.S. job growth…” (“Markets Tumble On Weak Unemployment Report Amid Fear That U.S. Recovery Has Stalled,” The Washington Post, 6/1/12)
· AP: “…dismal jobs data…” (“US Employers Still Waiting For Sales To Pick Up,” The Associated Press, 6/1/12)
Real GDP Growth 1st Quarter 2012: 1.9% (“Table 1.1.1, Percent Change From Preceding Period In Real Gross Domestic Product,” Bureau Of Economic Analysis, Accessed 6/6/12)
· AP: “That’s a meager pace nearly three years after the recession officially ended in June 2009. And it’s too slow to generate many jobs or to lower the unemployment rate.” (“Global Economy At Risk As US, Europe And Asia Slow,” AP, 6/3/12)
Gas Prices Multiple Choice
Which Of The Following Best Describes The Democrats’ Strategy On High Gas Prices?
- A. Voting On Judges
“Reid (D-Nev.) took a highly unusual step Monday of launching the process for Senate approval of 17 judges as soon as Wednesday…” (“Reid Tees Up Senate Fight To Confirm 17 Judges,” Los Angeles Times, 3/12/12)
- B. Blocking Keystone
“Thursday night’s 56-42 Senate vote to kill an amendment to fast-track the $7 billion, shovel-ready Keystone XL pipeline contains a wealth of information about President Obama and the Senate Democrats’ priorities.” (Editorial, “The Keystone Democrats,” The Wall Street Journal, 3/10/12)
- C. Raising Taxes On Energy Manufacturers
“After coordinating with the White House, Senate Democrats expect to consider, likely before the end of the month, legislation that would repeal tax breaks… The aide said there are no easy energy solutions…” (“Democrats Playing Defense On Energy,” Roll Call, 3/13/12)
- D. All Of The Above
“The President simply can’t claim to have a comprehensive approach to energy, because he doesn’t. And any time he says he does, the American people should remember one word: Keystone.” (Sen. Mitch McConnell, Floor Remarks, 3/7/12)
Editorials Rip Budget
Call President Obama’s Budget ‘A Wasted Opportunity,’ ‘An Auto-Pilot Course For Greece’
‘Obama’s Budget Plan Leaves Debt Bomb Ticking’
USA TODAY: “Obama’s budget plan leaves debt bomb ticking… The best test of a budget proposal these days is whether it reins in the national debt… The election-year budget President Obama sent to Congress on Monday fails that test.” (Editorial, “Obama’s Budget Plan Leaves Debt Bomb Ticking,” USA Today, 2/14/12)
THE WASHINGTON POST: “…Mr. Obama’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2013 falls short. At the end of the 10-year budget window, he would have the national debt at a disturbing 76.5 percent of gross domestic product… The final budget of his first term does not reflect the leadership on issues of debt and deficit that Mr. Obama once vowed.” (Editorial, “Obama’s Budget Falls Short, But It Beats Many Alternatives,” The Washington Post, 2/14/12)
THE DETROIT NEWS: “President Barack Obama’s 2013 budget proposal should be dismissed as a blueprint for his re-election campaign. But it’s worse than that. If passed as presented — and there’s little likelihood of that — the spending plan would lock America on an auto-pilot course for Greece.” (Editorial, “Obama Budget Shirks Off Any Pretense To Fiscal Responsibility,” The Detroit News, 2/14/12)
· “This is not a course toward fiscal responsibility. The budget is a blueprint of national entitlement that operates on the philosophy of spend now and pay later. But as Greece is verifying in the most painful way, at some point the bill must be paid. It never gets paid under Obama’s proposal.” (Editorial, “Obama Budget Shirks Off Any Pretense To Fiscal Responsibility,” The Detroit News, 2/14/12)
LOS ANGELES TIMES: “…President Obama released a budget proposal for the coming fiscal year that offers no real solution to the United States’ long-term fiscal problems.” (Editorial, “What About The U.S. Debt?,” Los Angeles Times, 2/14/12)
BLOOMBERG: Budget ‘a wasted opportunity.’ “Do as I say, not as I do. That was the unwelcome message in President Barack Obama’s federal budget for 2013.” (Editorial, “Obama Misses Opportunity To Tackle Tax Reform In $3.8 Billion Budget: View,” Bloomberg, 2/14/12)
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: “The political reality of budgeting is that voters should only believe what they can see, which is what politicians are proposing now. Promises of future spending cuts are a mirage. Mr. Obama needs to point to the mirage because his fiscal record is the worst in modern American history.” (Editorial, “The Amazing Obama Budget,” The Wall Street Journal, 2/14/12)
THE BOSTON HERALD: “President Barack Obama has apparently decided that he is not going to be part of the solution to the nation’s enormous deficit — which would make him, yes, part of the problem.” (Editorial, “Obama Punts On Budget,” The Boston Herald, 2/14/12)
SAVANNAH MORNING NEWS: “President Obama did the unthinkable Monday: He punted on first down.” (Editorial, “Obama’s Budget: A Wasted Chance,” Savannah Morning News, 2/14/12)
THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE: “Monday’s document, in truth, is a campaign playbook — the vision of government that Obama hopes voters will reward with a second presidential term.” (Editorial, “Athens On The Potomac,” The Chicago Tribune, 2/14/12)
The Bernie Maddoff for Democrat Politicians: An Opportunity for CA Republicans
Originally posted at FilmLadd by Ladd Ehlinger:
Far be it for me to chuckle at someone’s misfortune… but I’m chuckling.
Meet one Kinde Durkee, treasurer to some of the biggest names in California Democrat politics, including Senator Dianne Feinstein and Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez.
Kinde Durkee Confronted on Camera by FOX 11 News: MyFoxLA.com
She’s responsible for defrauding her Democrat clients for millions of dollars. From the Los Angeles Times:
As the treasurer considered the “platinum standard” in California, Durkee oversaw at least 360 bank accounts for almost 100 candidates, six dozen political action committees, about 60 Democratic clubs and committees and a handful of nonprofits. The ongoing federal investigation has triggered turmoil in state Democratic circles, with politicians, including members of the Los Angeles City Council and Congress, locked out of their accounts and worried that millions of dollars may be lost. U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein had $5.2 million, according to Durkee’s last report, but the bank can find just $662,101.
Right now the story is contained to local California papers and television, but this is really a national story with big implications for 2012. Republicans would do well to note that their opponents in California are not so monolithic as they used to think. Thanks to the “Bernie Maddoff” of political treasurers, they have been severely damaged in their ability to spread propaganda and voter bribes get-out-the-vote efforts.
Rather than donate money to Democrat colleagues out-of-state, these politicians will instead have to spend time raising money to make up for the shortfall. Will Republicans recognize the weakness and spend a little bit more time, attention, and money in California in 2012? I’ve never known the NRCC, NRSC, or the RNC to fumble capitalizing on unexpected opportunity, so I’m not holding my breath. Even so…
Thanks, Durkee.
Clips The WH Didn’t Circulate
On The President’s ‘Campaign’ Stop At The Ohio River
‘The President’s Staff Acknowledged The Political Nature Of His Own Trip’
“The bridge, which is badly in need of replacement, serves one of the busiest trucking routes in the country. But that isn’t why Obama was there.” (“With Bridge As Backdrop, Obama Defends Tax Hike,” Los Angeles Times, 9/22/11)
“The campaign has begun.” (Chuck Todd, MSNBC, 9/22/11)
“The Democratic president… made clear he had chosen the backdrop in order to make a political point…” (“Obama Uses Aging Bridge In Push For Jobs Plan,” Reuters, 9/22/11)
“…the president’s staff acknowledged the political nature of his own trip — and their hope that he will benefit from it.” (“Obama Visits Boehner’s Backyard,” Politico, 9/22/11)
‘No Dedicated Funding In The Jobs Bill For The Bridge’
“…no guarantee that this specific project would be funded.” (“President Obama Speaks About Jobs Package In Cincinnati,” The Toledo Blade, 9/22/11)
“…will it actually guarantee funding for the aged and overused Brent Spence Bridge? Not really, say transportation experts and highway officials.” (“Experts Say Obama’s Visit Won’t Help Bridge,” The Cincinnati Enquirer, 9/22/11)
“…there’s no dedicated funding in the jobs bill for the bridge.” (“With Bridge As Backdrop, Obama Defends Tax Hike,” Los Angeles Times, 9/22/11)
‘Obama Jobs Bill Doesn’t Apply,’ ‘Not Shovel Ready’
“Oops, Obama touts his jobs plan today at an Ohio bridge that won’t qualify.” “The president’s jobs bill is designed for ‘immediate’ highway spending. And the new $2.3 billion Cincy bridge is not scheduled to even start construction for probably four years…” (“Oops, Obama Touts His Jobs Plan Today At An Ohio Bridge That Won’t Qualify,” Los Angeles Times, 9/22/11)
“Highway officials say their bridge replacement plans not ready to hire workers till 2013 or later – so Obama jobs bill doesn’t apply.” (CBS’ Mark Knoller Twitter, 9/22/11)
“…despite the attention given by Obama, the timetable suggests it is not ‘shovel ready’ and won’t spur increased employment right away. According to a project schedule posted online, construction work is scheduled to begin in January 2015. Prior to that date, officials will spend 18 months acquiring right of way for the new span.” (“A Bridge Too Far? Obama Travels to Ohio Bridge That’s Not ‘Shovel Ready’ to Push Jobs Bill,” ABC News, 9/22/11)
“…that’s what the spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Transportation told me. That this really isn’t the best example of a shovel ready bridge or a shovel ready project.” (Brianna Keilar, CNN, 9/22/11)
“Remember when the President referred to the last stimulus projects saying they ‘weren’t as shovel ready as he had hoped?’ Well, this may be another example of the same problem.” (“Reality Check: Someone Needs To Tell The President The Brent Spence Bridge Is Not Shovel Ready,” WXIX Fox News [Cincinnati & N. Kentucky], 9/21/11)
SHOCKING: $200,000 Lifeguards with Million Dollar Pensions!
AFP’s California State Director David Spady explains how lifeguards in Newport Beach are making over $200,000 salaries and million-dollar pensions.
Newport Beach lifeguard’s lucrative salaries and pensions costing taxpayers millions each year. It’s time for some common sense.
They Were for the War before They Were Against It
Image via Wikipedia
From The CATO Institute:
Posted by Christopher Preble
Doyle McManus at the Los Angeles Times highlights the zigging and zagging of some leading Republican presidential contenders when it comes to war with Libya.
Particularly noteworthy is Newt Gingrich. “Two weeks ago,” McManus writes:
the former House speaker and possible presidential candidate denounced Obama for not intervening forcefully against Kadafi.
“This is a moment to get rid of [Kadafi],” he urged. “Do it. Get it over with.”
Then Obama intervened in Libya. Was Gingrich pleased?
“It is impossible to make sense of the standard for intervention in Libya except opportunism and news media publicity,” Gingrich said Sunday. “Iran and North Korea are vastly bigger threats…. There are a lot of bad dictators doing bad things.”
That sounded like a flip-flop, so I asked Gingrich what he meant. He responded with an e-mail: “The only rational purpose for an intervention is to replace Kadafi. That is what the president called for on March 3, and after that statement anything less is a defeat for the United States.”
Actually, Gingrich was wrong both before and after Obama (inexplicably) chose to follow his advice. The only rational purpose for the use of the U.S. military is to advance U.S. national security. The Libya operation has never been justified on those grounds — it is a humanitarian mission to protect civilians — and it might actually make a minor and manageable problem far worse.
